The Importance Of Goal Setting
The importance of goal setting
Each time we set a goal, whether it’s big or small, we ignite a fire that flows through our whole life in a positive and motivating way that drives us to succeed. We give ourselves something to strive for; it creates a sense of purpose. We give ourselves something to focus on with positive momentum.
When setting goals it’s important to know our WHY. Why we set the goal in the first place. Often we hear that a person has set a goal to lose 15 kg, my question is where does that number magically appear from? 15kg is just a number and we need to figure out why 15kg is your number. We need to ask ourselves some tough questions like:
-What will I be able to do when I’m 15kg lighter that I can’t do now?
– How will people look at me differently if I lose 15kg?
– How will those looking at me make me feel?
– When was the last time I was 15kgs lighter and how did I feel then?
The questions go on and on but what we are trying to do is find our big WHY, attach some real emotion and feelings to our goal so that when the challenges along the way appear we will persist until we succeed. Emotions create momentum, so we need to harness that power. YOU’RE WHY YOUR WAY IS!!!
People often shy away from setting goals in fear of failure. Push past this and use it as fuel to your fire. We should not live in fear of failure; this is how we grow as people and learn from our mistakes. That way when we set our next goal we can ensure a successful journey.
Each time we achieve a goal we feel a sense of accomplishment and gain confidence in ourselves, which will affect us and those around us in a positive manner. I promise that if we challenge ourselves regularly we will feel ALIVE. This process makes it much easier to tackle that next mission or goal to help us become a more successful and happier person with a sense of fulfilment.
Most of us may already know how important it is to write down our goals but it is important to establish what WE really want. Ask yourself and be 100% honest. Seeing our goals written down in our own handwriting is a very powerful thing on our conscious and subconscious mind.
- Will it help me become a better person?
- Is it something I think about all the time?
- How hard am I willing to work and what sacrifices am I willing to make to achieve it?
- Is it attainable given the time frame I have set myself?
- Is it congruent to where I want to be personally and career wise?
We have to want to achieve our goals but that’s just the start it then requires action to follow. Putting in the work required achieving whatever the task may be. If we come to a roadblock then we revert back to our WHY (why we set the goal in the first) get motivated to stay on track and find a way around it and keep working.
A few principals that have helped me is the KISS (keep is simple stupid) principle; the simpler the better. When we don’t have clarity on our goals we tend to procrastinate and over think.
I recommend setting 3-5 personal goals and 3-5 career goals. This way we can develop what the navy seals call “front sight focus” which means we can focus on one thing at a time. It has our full commitment and attention to achieve that certain goal in each aspect of our lives.
In my bedroom, I have a big whiteboard in which I divide into four categories; personal, weekly and career goals. It’s important to be very specific with our goals. You obliviously don’t have to go to this extremity but this has worked very well for me over the years. Weekly goals are what we label micro goals which should reflect our major goals. Here are some examples;
Personal goals
1)Buy a house this year
2) Drop 15kgs before my wedding on the 3/09/2017
3)Meal prep weekly
4) Stretch for 30mins every day
Career goals:
1) Sign 8 more clients within 3 months
2) Get promoted by September this year
3) Earn $20,000 more than last year
4) Open own business by 2018
Weekly goals: (micro )
1)Exercise 4 times this week
2) Eat clean and unprocessed 6 days this week.
3)Save $200 this week
4) Book my holiday to Vietnam this week
Category 4
Here can be pictures or quotes to help you stay on track and to see the end results. Everyone is different, this is all about the individual.
When working towards our major goals sometimes we can feel overwhelmed. Our micro goals help us break it down step by step and having front sight focus on our micro goals will propel us to our major goals. Each time we accomplish a micro goal it gives us positive feedback and confidence to pursue our major goals.
This is a powerful exercise and that will change your life for the better. You are 100% in charge of your life so take control of it, decide what you want and work for it every single day. You will learn a lot about yourself during this process and I know anyone who does this does not regret it.
Keep it simple,
DECIDE-COMMIT-SUCCEED
